Board of Directors

HDAA Board of Directors

The HDAA Executive Board is made up of eight members, at least five landlord members and up to three associate members. The current (as of January 2017) HDAA Board consists of the following Members. The next election will be in November 2017.

Arun Pathak – President (Property Manager) Arun has been a Property Manager for Smar Holdings Ltd. since 1985, managing apartment buildings and townhouses in Hamilton & Burlington. Arun has been an active advocate for the Rental Housing Industry by being a member of the Hamilton & District Apartment Association since 1990 (and has been president since 2013) He was also on the FRPO Board of Directors for over 15 years and is currently on the Board of Directors for CFAA. Served 4 terms on the Halton Housing Advisory Committee. (one term as Chair and one as Vice Chair). He has made presentations to Halton Regional Council suggesting they reduce the multi-residential property tax rates so that tenants would be granted rent reductions. He was a member of the City of Hamilton’s sub-committee studying the issue of multi-residential tax rates and was instrumental in the recommendations to equalize that rate with the residential tax rate. He has made presentations to various Committees of the Ontario Legislature with regards to rental housing issues. In addition to advocating for better legislation for Rental Property Owners he has advocated for improvements to tenant incomes, the assistance offered to them, and any other changes that would help the majority of tenants.

Augie Ammendolia – Board Member (Property Manager) Augie has been a landlord since 1975 and a member of the HDAA since that time. He has been a REALTOR since 1980,presently a BROKER with CHASE REALTY INC. in Ancaster. Over the last years Augie has been involved in Downtown Redevelopment projects, notably the International Village BIA on King St. and received the Commercial Re-Development Designation Award for 3 of his projects in that area. Presently he is a member of the OTTAWA STREET MERCHANT ASSOCIATION. He is a senior member with the REALTORS ASSOCIATION OF HAMILTON -BURLINGTON and a Director of the REGIONAL COMMERCIAL COUNCIL. Augie also manages and owns several Income Properties in Hamilton. He is experienced and knowledgeable in Landlord and Tenants matters having represented many cases in Landlord and Tenant Court. www.augieammendolia.com

Peter Altobelli – Board Member (Associate Member)Peter Altobelli has worked with Yardi since 1989 in all areas of support, implementation, sales, and marketing of Yardi software products throughout Canada. Currently, Peter is Vice President of Canadian Operations and Sales and directly manages all operational aspects of Yardi’s presence in Canada. Peter has been involved with sales, implementation, and ongoing business management for all of Yardi’s large and mid-size clients in Canada. A lifelong Hamilton resident, Peter received a diploma in Computer Technology from Mohawk College.

Mark Brule- Board Member (Property Manager) Mark has been in property management for 4 years. He graduated from the Real Estate and Housing Bachelor of Commerce program at the University of Guelph in 2012. Mark began his career as a property manager with Homestead Land Holdings Limited and has managed properties in several geographical areas in Ontario with Homestead including Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and Hamilton. Mark is now the Area Manager of Hamilton and the surrounding areas overseeing operations for the entire region. His portfolio spans from Brantford to Mississauga, encompasses over 4000 units and is largely comprised of high rise residential buildings as well as a small commercial mall. Mark is a proud member of HDAA and will strive to benefit the community and landlords in the Hamilton region.

Lucie Brusse – Board Member (Property Manager) Lucie is passionate about the revitalization of the City of Hamilton, and is an active participant in the solutions and events that will see Hamilton become the best city to start a business and invest in Real Estate in Canada. Lucie has been in real estate for more than 13 years. She has proven success in both residential and commercial real estate, with a passion for building business and creating strategic solutions for both internal and external clients. She has become a trusted resource to the more than 400 agents and brokers she supports across Canada. Lucie built a successful recruiting franchise that generated more than $2.4 million in annual sales, and has built her own portfolio of investment properties, that includes property management.

Dan Casuccio – Board Member (Property Manager) President of Zebra Property Management Inc. Dan established Zebra Property Management Inc. in the spring of 2010, and specializes in Residential Property Management and Consulting. Currently he manages over 500 units and continues to grow as investment interest in Hamilton flourishes. Dan was employed for over thirty years with The Effort Trust Company under the mentorship of Mr. Arthur Weisz, Chairman of the Board, as well as David Horwood CEO. During his time at Effort Trust, Dan managed a portfolio of twenty seven buildings from 24 units to over 200. These buildings were of diverse location and category. Total number of units approached 2,000. Dan has been an accredited member of the Institute of Housing Management for 20 years. His ability to work within the perimeters of the Landlord and Tenant Act successfully enables him to meet the landlords’ objectives. Dan has kept up with the evolution and ever changing landscape of Property Management by regularly attending HDAA meetings, IHM seminars as well as courses offered by IREM.

Robert Fleet – Board Member (Associate) Robert Fleet is Business Development Manager for First National Financial LP, a gold member of the HDAA. Robert specializes in conventional mortgage financing in addition to securitized mortgage lending. With over twenty years experience as an award winning executive, Robert is dedicated to driving profitable growth strategies for his clients. He is committed to providing clients with superior service, competitive rates and quick approvals. Previously to joining First National, Robert was a proprietor in an organization which was recognized as a four time winner of “Canada’s 50 Best Privately Managed Companies”

Ivan Murgic – Board Member (Property Manager) Ivan began his career in property management in 1989 with Highmark Properties in Toronto. Over the years, Ivan has worked in senior operations roles with HiStar Management Ltd., Greenwin Inc., TransGlobe Services, Greenrock Limited, Briarlane Rental Inc., and MetCap Living. Ivan has extensive experience in all areas of property management including residential rentals, condominiums and commercial properties. For many years, Ivan was a member of the Greater Toronto Apartment Association. He was Chair of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. He also served on the Education & Training Committee, Political Liaison Committee and the Utilities, Environment & Communications Committee.

Tina Novak – Board Member (Property Manager) Tina has been in property management for 17 years and has held a senior position for the last 10 of those years mainly in London and surrounding area. She is the Senior Property Manager for Valery Properties. Tina has managed both residential and condo buildings and has been involved in new condo developments and conversions. Tina has managed portfolios as large as 1800 units. She manages with a certain zeal and believes in having fun with tenants, trades and staff, this philosophy makes every building she manages a more enjoyable place to live and work and is the reason she has achieved such success in each of her buildings.

Mary Ongaro – Board Member (Associate) Mary Ongaro has more than 17 years experience in the ventilation industry. She started her career in HVAC in 1994 when she joined Sear’s Air Duct Cleaning. In 2012, Mary opened her own company, Absolute Ventilation Inc. She works with Property Management Companies and Landlords to assess recommend and subsequently contract for the cleaning of all their HVAC ductwork at their respective building sites. Mary is an active member of the HDAA, GTAA, FRPO, LMPA and ACMO associations and sits on various committees. Prior to joining the ventilation industry, Mary worked in the dry cleaning industry for 16 years. During her tenure there, Mary developed and implemented a Franchise Program and was directly involved with franchising 96 corporate locations. She supervised 80 corporate locations and set up and delivered all company Sales Training Programs in Ontario. Mary is still an active member of the Dry Cleaners and Launderers Institute of Canada. Mary received most of her training from the Retail Council of Canada, as well on as the job training and experience.

Maria Rekrut – Board Member (Property Manager) Maria brings a wealth of experience from different fields to our Board. She was a Hydro Commissioner in Niagara on the Lake and she was on the Heritage Committee also in Niagara on the Lake. She ran in two municipal elections. From 1986 to 2000 she owned and ran an International Business Consulting Firm. She developed courses and programs for various industries, universities and colleges throughout Canada and the USA. She traveled internationally lecturing on various areas of business development and people skills. For the last ten years she has been investing in and managing Residential Rental Real Estate in the Niagara peninsula. She specializes in single family homes, student rentals, vacation rentals, bed & breakfasts and “rent to own” properties. Maria has been a landlord since 2000, and member of HDAA for many years.